Law gets dean

Following a 15-month search, University President Judith Rodin named Michael
A Fitts, Robert G. Fuller Jr. Professor of Law, dean of the University of
Pennsylvania Law School March 6.

Fitts, a member of the Penn faculty for almost 15 years, will succeed Colin
S. Diver, who resigned Aug. 15, 1999.

We are absolutely delighted he has accepted this new assignment,
Rodin said in a statement about the appointment.

Fitts, a West Philadelphia native, has written about political institutions,
separation of powers, the Presidency and Congress. He has been a board member
of the Law and Political Process Study Group of the American Political Science
Association.

Before coming to Penn, Fitts served as attorney advisor in the Office of
Legal Counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he received a Special
Commendation Award from the U.S. Attorney General for his work. He served
as law clerk to the late Judge A. Leon Higginbotham Jr. of the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Penn Current Express

Quoted Recently

“More companies are asking how they can separate themselves from the organization and instead tighten their connection to the game. The brand of FIFA is problematic but the game of soccer is still popular.”

— Kenneth L. Shropshire, director of the Wharton Sports Business Initiative, on how the FIFA corruption scandal has caused some sponsors to be less concerned about partnering with the powerful soccer organization. FIFA tends to have the most leverage when negotiating deals with companies, but experts are wondering whether sponsors will be able to demand clauses that allow them to leave in cases of corruption. (The Los Angeles Times, June 3, 2015)